Biography
Hailing from New Jersey, Dean's comedy is deeply influenced by his distinctive heritage as the son of a Palestinian father and a Sicilian mother. An award-winning comedian and former practicing attorney, Dean has appeared on ABC's "The View," Comedy Central's "Axis of Evil" Comedy special, and co-created and co-produced Comedy Central.com's critically acclaimed web series "The Watch List," featuring Middle Eastern-American comedians performing stand-up and sketch comedy.
Dean has also been featured on numerous national and international platforms including CNN's "American Morning" and "The Situation Room," PBS' "Newshour with Jim Lehrer," Air America Radio, "Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen," ABC News, HD's "Dan Rather Reports," NPR, Fox News Radio, ABC's "20/20," Al Jazeera, "Democracy Now with Amy Goodman," and CNN International's "Inside the Middle East." His work has been highlighted in publications such as Time magazine, Newsweek, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times.
He was honored with the inaugural "Bill Hicks Spirit Award" for thought-provoking comedy, presented by the NY Underground Comedy Festival and the Hicks family, named after the late comedian Bill Hicks.
Dean co-created the comedy show "Stand up for Peace" with Jewish comedian Scott Blakeman, performing at colleges nationwide to promote peace in the Middle East and foster understanding between Arab and Jewish-Americans (www.standupforpeace.com). His one-man show, "I Come in Peace," was an official selection at the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival.
As co-founder and co-executive producer of the annual New York Arab-American Comedy Festival, Dean helped organize its fifth edition in January 2008. Beyond performing across the United States, he has also brought his comedy to audiences in Beirut, Haifa, Dubai, and Ramallah.
